Special election to replace Young Tuesday

PINELLAS COUNTY — With people still grieving the death of U.S. Rep. C.W. Bill Young, the special Republican primary, set for Tuesday, will decide who will run against Democrat Alex Sink, the former state chief financial officer, in the Mar. 11 general election for the vacant seat in Florida’s 13th Congressional District.Young, the 82-year-old Republican from Indian Shores, died Oct. 18. He was re-elected to in 2012. There are still 11 months remaining in his term. Election at a glance:Election Day: Tuesday; polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.Candidates: Vying for the Republican nomination are Kathleen Peters, David W. Jolly and Mark Bircher.Office: Congressional District 13, the seat vacated by the death of C.W. Bill Young. The winner of Tuesday’s Republican primary will face Democrat Alex Sink and Libertarian Lucas Overby. Congressional District 13 runs from south Pinellas to Dunedin, with parts of southern and downtown St. Petersburg cut out.Precincts/polling locations: 225 precincts in 167 polling places.Registered voters: 170,037 Republicans; Florida is a closed primary state, so only voters registered with the GOP may vote in this special primary.Early voting: continues through Sunday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today and Friday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at these supervisor of elections offices — 13001 Starkey Road, Largo; 501 First Ave. N., St. Petersburg; Pinellas County Courthouse, 315 Court St., Room 117, Clearwater.Mail ballots received as of Monday: 23,165Mail ballot deadline: 7 p.m. election day; return to any elections office or at these remote drop-off locations: • County tax collector offices, open weekdays, 29399 U.S. 19 N. (near Curlew Road), Clearwater; 1663 Gulf-to-Bay Blvd., Clearwater; and 1800 66th St. N., St. Petersburg. • Public libraries, open weekdays and Saturdays, 9200 113th St. N., Seminole; and 7770 52nd St., Pinellas Park. Election employees are stationed with secure ballot boxes inside each location to assist and hand out “I Voted” stickers.Supervisor of elections office hours: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. today and Friday; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday; and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday.For more information: www.votepinellas.com or (727) 464-8383.Other election news: Daily updates for initiative petitions received and processed are available at votepinellas.com. Two initiative petitions are active in Pinellas County — 12-04 Water and Land Conservation and 13-02 Use of Marijuana for Certain Medical Conditions.The Florida Constitution provides a process for a citizen group to form a political committee and collect initiative petition signatures in order to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot for voter approval.